Suspended ceilings are well known in the art. Employed in most newer construction buildings and, particularly, in commercial construction, it is most common to hang a suspended ceiling such that various venting, heating, air conditioning, electrical, telephone, and other wiring and duct work may be located between the suspended ceiling and the natural ceiling of the building.
In the construction of suspended ceilings, the use of an inverted T-bar rail has become common. The T-bar rail is suspended from its vertical component from the natural ceiling of the building structure. The T-bar rail, when inverted, also has horizontal components which serve as longitudinal flanges, or half-planes, extending in a co-planar fashion and at fight angles to the plane of the vertical component of the T-bar rail. A plurality of T-bar rails are suspended from the natural ceiling at an appropriate distance to form a matrix having main runner members generally parallel to each other, and cross runner members generally parallel to one another and perpendicular to the main runner members. After a suitable matrix of T-bar rails have been suspended from the natural ceiling therefrom a multiplicity of rectilinear panels are positioned on the extended half-planes of the T-bar rails. This produces the familiar grid-like pattern of ceiling panels that characterize essentially all suspended ceilings. While many suspended T-bar rails form a grid pattern in a conventional 2'.times.4' rectangle, some T-bar rails are established in a 2'.times.2' square configuration. The basic functional form of such subceilings is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,144, where the bottom surfaces of the rail flanges are left exposed as flat boundary strips between edge-supported panels. Commonly-used inverted T-bar rails have become dimensionally standardized to produce either a 2'.times.4' matrix or a 2'.times.2' matrix.
To enhance the aesthetic appeal of such grid patterns of suspended ceilings, certain steps have been suggested. In the first instance, the outer or downward facing component of each inverted T-bar element may be colored to provide a suitable contrast or complement to the colors of the panels held between the T-bar rail. Also, the prior art indicates that a broad variety of ornamental designs of the panels (which also serve an acoustical function) can be achieved. Other prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,246) discloses a means for the attachment of a false or imitation beam structure to a suspended ceiling. U.S. Patent No. 4,848,054, discloses hollow beams designed to attach to the bottom horizontally extending portion of a T-bar rail, similar to the beams disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,246 discussed above. The beams may be made from plastic and are sized and configured to provide a visual depth to the ceiling. U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,238 also attempts to achieve visual depth by disclosing metal coffers which hang by wires from a ceiling structure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,304 discloses the use of a flange to support suspended ceiling panels. However, none of these patents or other references in the prior art disclose or suggest the combination of an integral, rectilinear structure having a hollow interior, supported on a T-bar rail by flanges, and sized to hang down from the T-bar rail a relatively large distance so as to produce a coffered, aesthetically appealing view of depth to the ceiling. The prior art also fails to anticipate the invention's inclusion of at least one cross-member which adds to the structure's visual appeal by converting a larger grid opening (of 2'.times.4' dimensions) to a smaller grid opening (of 2'.times.2' dimensions). This adds to the sense of visual appeal and sense of intimacy afforded by the coffered suspending ceiling of the present invention.
Further, these references fail to suggest the further modifications disclosed by the present invention of building three dimensional grid patterns (such as a cube) from a plurality of structures suspended both vertically and horizontally in the ceiling.
Finally, no suggestion is made in the prior art for forming a lip beneath the flanged side member of the structure as a means to reveal a rectilinear space, centered beneath the T-bar rail, for mounting an additional track assembly, such as track lighting, beneath the T-bar rail so as to fit flush within, or between, opposing side members being supported by, and hanging below, the T-bar rail.